Breaking Point
by ShellGrad
Summary: We all have our breaking points. What will happen when Lisbon reaches hers? And will that cause Jane to reach his? Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**AN: I know I should be updating for Alphabetic Gamefics and I will soon. I started this a few months ago and finally reached a great chapter stopping point. This will be finished eventually though I can't promise quick updates. Just wanted to show you all my new story. Probably won't have a whole lot of chapters but you never know. I haven't written any more than this just yet.**

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><p><em>Why am I here<em>, Lisbon silently questioned herself.

She looked across the desk at Wainwright who was yelling about something yet again. It didn't even matter that it was Wainwright. First, it was Minelli. Then it was Hightower. Then, LaRoche. Now it's some kid who's really starting to look red in the face.

_If he keeps that up, he's liable to have an aneurism_. Lisbon smiled to herself at the very Jane-like thought. She soon schooled her features as she saw Wainwright get even angrier, if that was even possible.

Lisbon sighed. _Jane: that's why I'm here. But why isn't __he__ here? This is all his damn fault anyway. __I __certainly wasn't the one who insulted…who did he even insult this time? Wait, was it an insult? Or had he done something else? Hmm…what had he done? I'm taking the blame for a crime I can't even remember the details to!_

Suddenly, Lisbon had had enough. "Sir, why are you yelling at me?"

Wainwright grew silent but the color never left his cheeks. "Agent Lisbon, have you been paying attention to anything I've been saying?"

"No," she said and ignored his look of indignation as she leaned forward and continued. "I realize Jane's done something. I honestly can't remember what it even was this time. So, why are you yelling at me? He's the one that's done something."

"Lisbon, you know that part of your job requires you to handle Jane."

Lisbon snorted. "Part of my job?"

Wainwright continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Now, I realize that may be difficult sometimes – "

"You realize? You realize? You don't realize anything!" Lisbon threw her hands in the air.

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><p>Out in the bullpen, Jane sat up on his leather couch. Van Pelt turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Something's wrong," Jane said as he leaned toward Lisbon's office and squinted his eyes.<p>

"What do you mean?" Rigsby looked at the consultant with worried eyes.

"Lisbon's been mindlessly nodding and apologizing for half an hour."

"So?" Cho deadpanned without looking up from his paperwork.

"So, now she's yelling back." He now had the attention of the entire team. Yet he somehow couldn't bring himself to enjoy it, not without finding out what was going on in that office. He contemplated sneaking closer to eavesdrop when Lisbon swung open the glass office door and headed to the stairs without so much a look at the gaping, virtually paralyzed agents and consultant whose eyes followed her every move.

Jane turned hi s head toward the glass office to see Wainwright also seemingly paralyzed. The team exchanged looks before their boss slowly rose and walked toward them. "Agent Cho, you are promoted to head of the team. Congratulations, I guess." He spoke as if in a daze then slowly turned and walked in the direction of his own office.

"What was all that that about?" Everyone turned to look at Van Pelt before glancing again at the staircase Lisbon had gone down only moments ago.

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><p>"You mean temporarily." Cho stood in front of Wainwright, his hands on his superior's desk.<p>

He sighed. "No, I mean permanently. Lisbon quit."

"She'll come back."

"Yeah, well, that's not the impression I got."

"She always comes back. Jane will talk to her. He can convince her more than you and I can."

"Jane," Wainwright started then let the sentence hang in the air. "Agent Cho, you are now the new permanent head of the Serious Crimes Unit. If you don't want it, then I'll appoint someone else. Someone who is NOT Teresa Lisbon. If it means anything, she wanted you to have this job," he added softly.

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><p>"Has anyone seen Lisbon?" Jane looked around the bullpen at the three people blatantly ignoring him. "Cho…"<p>

"Lisbon's not coming back."

Something about the tone of his voice stopped Jane from laughing and calling the man ridiculous. "What did she say to you?"

Cho glanced at him before returning to his work. "She said it was a pleasure working with me all these years and that she would miss me. She gave me some tips on running this place."

"You spoke with her?"

"Went to her apartment. Had dinner." Cho headed for the glass office.

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><p>Lisbon paused in mid-packing at the sound of the doorbell. She sighed and headed toward the door. She'd been expecting the doorbell. She hadn't quite expected the team to be the ones she saw through the peep hole. Sure, she'd known they'd stop by eventually but she was more certain that the recent bane of her existence would be the one showing up on her doorstep. She opened the door and waved them in wordlessly. Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt all stepped inside without a word, waiting on the casually dressed brunette to make the first move. When she went straight back to packing the boxes, Cho made the first move.<p>

"Why didn't you put in your two weeks' notice? Why leave like that? It won't look good at your next interview."

"Tried it," she answered nonchalantly, not breaking her flow. "They always told Jane and _he_ always found a way to get me to stay. Never knew it 'til I was standing in front of Minelli and he was ripping up my resignation with a grin so smug it could rival Patrick Jane's."

"Why not tell us?"

Lisbon averted her eyes from the puppy-eyed look on Rigsby's face as he asked the question. "Would you have let me leave?"

She expected their silence. She knew they didn't have a response that wouldn't be a blatant lie but she gave them the opportunity to think of one anyway. When she was sure she could continue without seeming presumptuous, she spoke again.

"You all would have gone to Jane. You would have told him it was his fault, adding to the guilt he carries on a daily basis which is wrong no matter how truthful the statement is," she pointed a warning, motherly finger at them. "You would have made him come up with some clever plan, like he has every other time, to make me stay. And for what? That wouldn't have made me any happier. It won't make him any happier."

"You make Jane happy," Van Pelt interjected, her face reflecting her hurt.

"Getting what he wants makes Jane happy. And he usually gets what he wants with me. Why do you think he never pushes Cho? He knows Cho's not going to give in so he bullies Rigsby, even blackmailing on occasion, because he knows he'll get what he wants from Rigsby. And that doesn't make you weak, Rigsby," she told the deflated agent.

"Oh yeah?" He asked her disbelievingly.

"What? Do you think it makes me look weak?" She challenged.

"Uh, no boss," Rigsby fluttered, trying to set things right. Lisbon waved her hand dismissively, silencing him.

"But Wainwright," Van Pelt started.

"Wainwright doesn't take me seriously." Lisbon cut her off. "He's always going along with Jane's plans. He's always letting Jane run around and do whatever he wants. And somehow I'm the one that's supposed to be controlling him."

Lisbon looked around at her subdued, former subordinates. "Enough of this for now. I'm hungry and I know for a fact you three haven't had anything to eat yet. How about I make us some dinner?" She shrugged at the three pairs of raised eyebrows. "It's out last meal together. Who knows when we'll all be able to hang out together next? You guys will be so busy with the caseload." They all nodded soberly.

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><p>"You have your own team now, Cho," she told him as they sat around her kitchen table eating spaghetti. "And it's a team you already know, the strongest damn team the CBI has. You're ready for this. You've been ready for this."<p>

"I'm not done learning yet," he countered.

"Cho, we're always learning as long as others keep teaching. But teachers eventually retire or change to different schools. Now, take my leaving as my last lesson to you. Don't let your job become something it's not. My job stopped being about crime a long time ago and somewhere along the way became about keeping Patrick Jane in line. My own job wasn't even about me anymore. I stood the risk of being fired for the shit _he_ pulled. _That's_ why I quit. If I'm going to be fired, it's for _damn_ sure going to be because of something I've done wrong. I refuse to continue to put myself on the line for someone else, especially when they don't appreciate it."

"After you were shot and after Jane got out of prison, he got all of our jobs back, including yours," Rigsby pointed out.

"True. Keep in mind I never asked him to get my job back. In fact, it's even further proof that Patrick Jane has more control over my employment than I do! It's less the lack of appreciation and more to do with the fact that my job was no longer about how good of a cop I was. It was about how much control I had over Jane, which clearly isn't very much."

"So what was the breaking point?" Cho asked.

"Huh?" Lisbon turned to look at him.

"You've been yelled at and criticized by Minellii, Bosco, Hightower, Bertram, and pretty much every politician and law-enforcement official we've come across. What happened?"

Lisbon put her fork down for a moment and looked at them seriously. The three agents stilled their movements simultaneously, their eyes never leaving their former boss. Cho stilled the anxiety creeping up as she looked at them with such vulnerability and honesty, social mask completely discarded. "I was sitting across from Wainwright and wasn't paying attention to the words he was really saying, which wasn't a big deal." She waved a hand dismissively. "That's happened to me before, even with Minelli on occasion. No, this time when my thoughts wandered…" she paused.

"I couldn't even remember why I was being yelled at. I didn't have the slightest clue what Jane had done this time. I was so…tired!" She explained, as if talking about it was even exhausting. "Tired of always taking the blame. Tired of always apologizing. Tired of always defending him. And I just refused to take the blame for something I couldn't even remember the details to. It's ridiculous. Then, it was as if someone turned a light on and I realized I don't _have_ to take the blame. _I_ didn't do anything wrong."

The three agents watched as she picked up her fork and continued to eat. Suddenly, they didn't have much of an appetite any more. It was all too real. This wasn't about bringing Lisbon back. This was goodbye, a depressing and sobering thought that became even more real when Lisbon spoke again.

"All three of you are the best agents I've ever had the pleasure of working with. I'll miss all three of you. Hell, I may even miss Jane a little." She let out a small chuckle at the irony. They understood. No matter how big of a pain in the ass he was, it was impossible not to miss someone you spent so much time with for so many years.

"Grace, you are a sweetheart. You have so much potential. I see some of myself in you, which is why I hired you. Don't worry, you'll make it to the top. There's no doubt about that. You've got the skills. It just takes time. But, I also see so much in you that's so different from me. And that's another reason why I hired you. Jane's told me so many times of how you look up to me and I'm not going to tell you to stop. But I am going to tell you to remember who you are and where you came from. Don't ever be anybody but you. You don't need to be like me to make a great cop. You already are a great cop. You got this job because you deserve it and don't ever think differently." Van Pelt nodded, silent tears coursing down her cheeks.

"Wayne," Lisbon sighed, a nostalgic smile making her seem ten years younger, "you remind me so much of my brothers. Remember that talk we had about your dad?" Rigsby nodded, swallowing over the lump in his throat. "Good, don't forget the things I said…or the things I didn't say. Wayne, I don't know how much any of you know about my past but my dad and your dad…Well," she huffed, "let's just say our fathers aren't all that different and leave it at that. My little brother Tommy is such a great father to Annie and….What I'm trying to say is you'll make a great dad. Don't worry about making mistakes that aren't yours. We don't always become our parents. You'll do just fine."

"Thanks, Boss."

"And don't let Jane treat you like a fool. You're smart. You're a good agent. Otherwise, I never would've hired you," she told him with a dimpled smile. He cracked a crooked smile and nodded, his eyes wet.

She sighed. "Well, it's late. You three should really get some sleep since I know none of you get nearly as much as an average cop does, much less as a _normal_ person should. They each stood as she walked them to the door. She hugged Van Pelt and Rigsby at the door. "I want to talk to Cho for a minute." They nodded and walked to the car they had all taken to her place.

"You're not going to make me cry," he deadpanned. She smiled brilliantly as she laughed aloud. He cracked a smile. No wonder Jane worked so hard to get a smile out Lisbon. Her smile and her laugh had a way of making you feel special.

"I'm really going to miss you, Kimball." She laughed as he playfully narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh come on, after all these years? I had to say it once. No, but seriously… You're ready for this and you're going to do a great job. You're a fantastic leader and it's time you stop avoiding it," she shoved him lightly. "I'd – uh – give you some tips on running the place but you clearly know everything and I think it's pretty clear my methods of controlling Jane didn't work out," she said, looking down at the floor.

He wrapped her in a tight hug. They held on for a few moments before he released her. She blinked back tears. "Just, do me a favor, okay? Don't let him spend all that day in the attic. And don't let him go back to that house in Malibu, either. He still sleeps on a bare mattress underneath that god-forsaken smiley. I don't know how much the others know about it, but I wouldn't tell them if I were you. He needs someone with your position of power that he can trust with his secrets."

"I don't think it was your power made him tell you his secrets." Lisbon shrugged, clearly choosing not to say anything on that particular subject. "Bye, Boss," he said as he stepped out of her apartment.

Lisbon smiled and shook her head. "I'm not your boss anymore."

"Don't remind me." And with that, he walked to join the other two agents in the car.

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><p><strong>Don't get too sad! If you've read any of my stories before, you know I'm a sucker for happy endings :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own my favorite tv show not my favorite characters.**

**I'm so pleased with the reception this story has had. Again, stick with me for the happy ending but things have to get worse before they get better, right? Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and put on story alert! Reviews are always appreciated :)**

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><p>So, that was that then. Lisbon had really reached her breaking point. Jane mused over a cup of tea, ignoring the fact that it tasted irrationally bitter. All three of the team members had been fairly quiet all day. There was a telltale tension in the bullpen. It didn't help that all of the CBI had been finding every excuse in the book to pass by their unit to see for themselves if Lisbon really had quit…if she really <em>had<em> reached her breaking point. It had him wondering if anyone else would reach their breaking point because of it. He had a sinking feeling that this was only beginning and he wasn't sure where exactly it was headed, though he was fairly certain it wasn't any place good.

The day had come to an end and 'boss' Cho had come out to tell them they could all go home. When Jane picked up his keys and a familiar looking journal, all three agents stilled their movements. "Where are you going?" Cho asked, nodding slightly at the journal in his hands.

"Home."

"No."

"No?" Jane raised his eyebrows.

"No." Cho crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Lisbon only asked me to promise her one thing and that was to make sure you didn't brood in your attic for too long or go back to that house in Malibu."

"She told you – "

"Enough. Obviously I couldn't tell you if there was anything she didn't tell me but she did explain why she didn't want you going there and I have to agree." _Though I can't see why you really deserve it_, Jane nearly heard him silently add.

"Oh, well if that's what Lisbon wants – "

"Then you do it," Rigsby added menacingly. Jane turned narrowed eyes at him. He really didn't like being ganged up on. "And don't you dare ask why, you son of a – "

"Wayne!" Van Pelt tried to stop him but it was clear Rigsby had reached his breaking point as well.

"She quit because of you! She's gone because of you! She did everything for you and for what? I don't care if it meant nothing to you. That woman is a saint for putting up with your shit and you know it. So, yes, if that's the only thing Lisbon wants, then that's what you do."

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><p>Jane took a look at the boxes, obviously newly packed and stacked. "Moving?"<p>

"Possibly."

"What are you doing, Lisbon?"

"Packing. It's – uh – the process of putting things in boxes and closing them, usually with tape. Of course, there are different opinions on how to put things in the boxes. Some people say there should be a balance of heavy things and light things in each box. Some are sticklers for organizing things by rooms. Some make lists. Some bubble-wrap. Some use packing peanuts. Some use newspaper. And then there are those people who just throw things into boxes just so that they fit."

"Lisbon."

She rolled her eyes. "I quit my job, Jane. I'm going to have to find a job somewhere and that somewhere is not going to be in this city. So, naturally, I'll have to move somewhere else; hence, packing."

"So this is goodbye?"

She studied him for a moment. "I suppose it is. I'd say we could still be friends but what is my friendship worth to you now that I can't be used to further help you on any of your cases? Not that you would need my help, really. Not as a cop, anyway. No, you only need me to keep your secrets, right? You needed me to pull strings and smooth things over so that we'd still have people to ask favors from, which I did. But, I'm done now, Jane. I'm done being your puppet and I'm done with a job that's no longer about me anymore."

"You are the job, Lisbon. How could it not be about you anymore?"

"It hasn't been about me for a long time…ever since it became about you. Minelli cared. He yelled, but he cared. Everyone else has held me responsible for your crap and it's just gotten worse the more bosses I've had. Hightower clearly told me that you were the golden one and that I was replaceable. Wainwright just went straight to not paying any attention to what I said and gave you whatever you wanted while still placing blame on me for everything you do."

"So, is that what you want? For the powers that be to place responsibility for my actions on my shoulders?"

"As if, Jane. You're the golden boy. You're so high on that pedestal that they've placed you and your abilities on. What would they do? Yell at you? That won't do anything. Fire you? They'd never even consider it. Suspend you? Since when has that helped anything before? No. Placing responsibility where it belongs won't do anything."

"What _do_ you want, Lisbon?"

She laughed and shook her head slightly, her soft curls waving delicately in the air. "At this point? Just one thing to satisfy my curiosity."

Jane couldn't move a muscle if he wanted to as her smile turned decidedly playful and seductive. She moved forward toward him ever so slowly. It really did feel as if time had nearly stopped. He visibly swallowed. "Curiosity, huh?"

"Oh, yes, it's something I've been curious about since the day I met you," she breathed against his lips. She gave him every opportunity to stop her but he couldn't – wouldn't? He was paralyzed…or so he thought. Because when her lips met his, he literally saw fireworks behind his closed eyelids.

It was the epitome of magical. She was warm. She was a breath of fresh air. She was sweet. She was savory. She was everything he wanted and everything he feared. There was something so uniquely Lisbon about it that had him instantly moving his lips against hers.

It wasn't his first kiss since his wife but experience wasn't what had him responding much more passionately than he ever had with Erica…the murderer. The thought sent ice water through his veins and he reluctantly pushed her back gently.

"Lisbon, I'm sorry. I just – I can't – I can't do this."

"Okay," she shrugged nonchalantly and went back to packing her boxes.

"Okay?" He asked, confused. "Since when do you let me give up on things that are good for me?"

"What do you want me to say, Jane? And besides, who says I'm what's good for you, Jane? Who says that I'm what's going to keep the glue together?"

"Because you always are. You always have been. It's just… You can't be a rebound."

"Who says I was going to be a rebound?"

Jane groaned loudly in frustration. "I can't give you what you want."

"And what exactly is it that I want?"

"Marriage, children, my whole heart."

"Who on Earth said I wanted to get married? Or have children? And, really? Please, get over yourself. If I wanted to get married, I could have done that a long time ago. I used to have a social life before I was buried in paperwork and I have dated. I have had successful relationships. I didn't want to get married because it didn't feel right. I don't want to have kids because I practically raised my three brothers. I've done the parent thing even if I didn't give birth to them. As for the thing about your heart: No heart is ever truly whole. We all have first loves. And when we lose them, we lose a part of ourselves. Do you really think my heart would be whole? I lost my mother at thirteen, my dad became an abusive alcoholic before killing himself…Yes, you had it hard and still have it hard since you refuse to move on. Yes, Red John killed your family. Yes, you provoked him. But do you honestly believe that he found out about your family and where you live all while you were _still_ on tv? He knew where you lived. He knew you wouldn't be there that night. Hell, he may have even set up the interview. He may have been entirely responsible for your being asked to consult on his case in the first place. It is absolutely possible that he was pulling the strings all along. He was banking on you publically insulting him. You simply gave him what the police – including you – would see as motive since none of us would know his ultimate plan of creating you as a nemesis."

"Is that what you think he did?"

"I don't know," Lisbon answered, exasperated. "But can you _honestly_ tell me it isn't possible whatsoever? Look, that wasn't even my point. My point is that we're all screwed up in different ways but you never get over it and come close to feeling some proximity of normalcy if all you do is blame yourself for something that was most likely preplanned."

"Oh, this is good. This is good, Lisbon. We have a whole new theory on the case. We've got to get back. We'll even tell the team if you want. We've gotta work on this." He moved to the door. Her voice stopped his hand on the doorknob.

"Not we. You. Not we, Jane." She sighed. "I don't work there anymore, remember?" She turned and headed to the kitchen. Suddenly, his heart felt inexplicably heavy. She turned to see him still standing in her living room. "Go ahead, Jane. The Red John case is waiting."

"Lisbon, don't be like that. You know how important this is to me."

She looked around her, feeling a little like she was in an alternate universe. Were they having the same conversation? "And I told you to go, Jane. Seriously, since when do you even need my permission? I can forbid you to go if it'll help you justify leaving. In all honesty, I have no problem with you leaving right now to work on the Red John case. In fact, I'd be concerned if you didn't leave right now. You've spent almost a decade tracking this guy down. There's no point putting it aside for anything now. Now, go. I'm used to it by now."

"Used to it?"

"Cut the crap. You know you've always put just about everything before me. Don't stand there and say that you ever once gave a damn about me."

"How can you say that?"

"Oh please, what are you going to do now, Jane? Tell me we have something special?"

"We _do_ have something special."

"That's sheep dip and you know it. You are attracted to women like Kristina Frye and Erica Flynn. Which, really, I didn't think mattered since I didn't think you were over your wife, but apparently I was wrong. Very wrong. And none of that matters because you're free to do whatever you want with whoever you want."

"There's just one thing I want to know. How did you know Erica and I kissed?"

"You and Erica kissed?"

"Well, yeah…Isn't that what you were talking about?"

Lisbon scoffed. "No, I was talking about how you have feelings for her. I didn't know you two actually kissed."

"Oh, come on. That wasn't just about feelings. Who told you? It had to have been Wainwright, since he was the only one there."

"You and Erica kissed in front of Wainwright?" Her face was a mixture of shock, disbelief, and a fair amount of disgust.

"Well, the second time. The first time we were all alone which is why Wainwright had to have been the one to tell you. Funny, I didn't think he was so into gossip."

"Jane, you're being ridiculous. No one told me you two kissed. But, please, by all means feel free to kiss her all you want. Feel free to runaway to wherever it is she escaped to so you can be with your murderous girlfriend."

He scrutinized her. "You know, for someone who's so against murderers, you sure did fight hard to keep me out of jail."

Lisbon laughed. "Yes, what was I thinking? Shooting an armed man who you believed to be the killer of your family out of revenge as well as shooting a psychopath to save my life is the _exact_ same thing as murdering one's unarmed husband in cold blood out of selfishness. So, yeah, I suppose I should dislike you as much as I dislike Erica and all of the other murderers that have gone to jail. Or, maybe I should hate the both of you as much as I hate the _other_ murderers who aren't in jail, including Red John."

"What can I do, Lisbon?" Jane whispered. "What can I do to get you to come back?"

"Why do you have to do anything?" She asked quietly, meeting his eyes.

"I can't lose you," he whispered so softly and desperately she almost wasn't sure if he'd even said anything.

Her heart broke a little at his words and even more at the words that left her mouth next. "That's assuming I'm your to lose."

"Aren't you?"

"Am I? You tell me, Jane. What's the most important thing in your life?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Oh, Mentalist, won't you be mine? Bruno says no. :-(**

**You guys are amazing. If I keep getting this inspired by reviews, I may finish this story before I finish the one I started before this. I am so grateful to ALL who reviewed, favorited, and put on story alert. Just to review: Lisbon and Rigsby have both reached their breaking points. Now, let's see who's next.**

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><p>Jane brought the blue tea cup to his lips as he sat on his leather couch at the CBI. He replayed his conversation with Lisbon over and over. Searching…searching for something. An answer. A sign. Of what he was supposed to say. What he was supposed to do. He sighed and let the memories flood him again.<p>

"_What can I do, Lisbon?" Jane whispered. "What can I do to get you to come back?"_

He had felt so helpless.

"_Why do you have to do anything?" She asked quietly, meeting his eyes._

He felt his fractured heart give a squeeze. How could she have said that? How could it have not broken her heart?

"_I can't lose you," he whispered so softly and desperately she almost wasn't sure if he'd even said anything._

Because, he realized, she really had reached her breaking point, and not just with her job. She'd reached her breaking point with him. He let out a heavy sigh. The realization was almost overwhelming. If only he'd seen it coming. The irony wasn't lost on him. The man who once pretended to be psychic hadn't seen his best friend walking out on him…on them…on what they had.

_Her heart broke a little at his words and even more at the words that left her mouth next. "That's assuming I'm yours to lose."_

"_Aren't you?"_

Wasn't she? He'd spent so long feeling as if she was his. He knew he had no real claim on her. No one did. But he'd always thought they'd be together. He remained adamant that she would not be a rebound. No, she wasn't that type. She was forever. She was always what forever felt like.

"_Am I? You tell me, Jane. What's the most important thing in your life?"_

He was grateful for the silence she had allowed him. It couldn't have been easy. But she knew it wasn't a question easily answered. He'd have to think. He'd have to weigh his options. She knew he had to do these things. So, he was grateful for the silence. And, yet, it was this particular line that he knew was responsible for the way things ended. This was why he sat all alone in the dark CBI, obsessing over what the right thing to say was.

"_You have to know it isn't that easy."_

_She sighed and he felt his entire world crumbling away and slipping out of his fingers. She walked toward him, her eyes shining with unshed tears and threw her arms around his neck. His arms wrapped around her small form of their own volition. Her small body felt so wonderful against his. They were like two puzzle pieces. She pulled back and kissed his cheek._

"_Still counts," Jane whispered with a smile, earning him a smile and a startled laugh._

"_Goodbye, Jane."_

He let loose a shuddering sigh before being pulled out of his seat by his lapels. "What the hell is your problem, Jane?" Jane came to his senses to see Grace's eyes glaring back at him. "You just can't leave things alone, can you?"

"What?"

"Haven't you done enough to her already?"

"Grace, did you follow me to Lisbon's apartment?" He didn't really need an answer. Her glare was answer enough. "And exactly how much do you know?"

"Enough to know that she was fine when you went in there and had tears in her eyes when you left." So, she didn't know they had kissed. Well, he certainly wasn't going to tell. Grace was mad enough as it is, not to mention Rigsby, and both could and would kick his ass if they knew about that part. "Now, I'm going to make this simple for you. Go near her again and I will personally make sure Red John will _never _even have the _opportunity_ to kill you and no one will _ever_ find your body. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

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><p>Lisbon plopped herself down on her couch and turned on the tv for a break from packing. "In other news, it seems the CBI is <em>still<em> in hot water these days. The bureau first landed themselves on the news when a senior agent, who reportedly worked with the famous Patrick Jane, walked out on the job, reportedly quitting with no notice. Now, it seems as if Patrick Jane himself has walked away from the bureau as well. Sources say he has not reported for work in two weeks, his disappearance from the bureau just as sudden and unexplained as his previous superior's departure. Representatives of the bureau say – "

"Dammit, Cho," Lisbon cursed as she jumped off the couch and grabbed her jacket and keys, checking her off-duty gun. "You had one freaking job."

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><p>She knocked on the door of the familiar Malibu house, not really expecting an answer but giving Jane the benefit of the doubt anyway. She took out her gun and tried the door, switching off the safety when the door opened easily.<p>

Lisbon entered warily, scanning the area slowly before approaching the stairs she knew would lead to a grim site. She just hoped there wasn't any fresh grimness awaiting her. Climbing the stairs, she heard a voice and knew with a dreaded certainty that it didn't belong to Patrick Jane. The intonation and the cadence were all wrong.

What happened next was all a blur. She vaguely remembered ordering the dark, black hooded figure to drop his weapon, accidentally claiming to be CBI out of habit. She saw the glint of moonlight on his knife and the (thankfully) small pool of blood on the floor. She heard the shot fire from her gun as he took a step toward her even though she couldn't recall pulling the trigger. She saw the figure fall to the floor. She felt herself walk towards Jane. She felt herself fall to her knees.

She took the plain bed sheet from the mattress, bundling it to tie around him in an attempt to fashion a crude bandage to stop the flow of blood from the gash on his stomach. "Oh, Jane. Please tell me this wasn't one of your plans."

"Come now, Lisbon. Since when has Red John ever fallen for one of my plans?" He wheezed out, attempting not to wince under her ministrations. He had hoped for a laugh but received none in response.

"What happened?" She asked when she finished.

At least she sounded a bit calmer and slightly less worried than before. "Oh, haven't you heard? It's the new attendance policy at CBI. If you don't show up to work for a few days, they send a sociopathic serial killer to your home to either murder you or convince you to go back to work."

Lisbon crinkled her brow, remembering why she had come here in the first place. "Why haven't you been to work?"

Man, he just could not catch a break. What would it take for this woman to smile a little? He gave up trying to win her smile and laugh right now and settled for some of his own reality testing. If she could use it, so could he. "Oh please, Lisbon. Did you really think you were the only one that could be broken?"

"Who broke you?" She whispered, blinking back the tears in her eyes.

"The same person that's always had the power to fix me. I know, the irony. But, I wasn't just referring to myself, my dear." She looked over to the ignored man in the room. "Oh, yes. It appears even madmen have their breaking points."

"His was you not coming into work."

"He lost his play toy."

"Was he…"

"Yes, he was intending to kill me. It was the only logical choice since I no longer had anything to keep me around. Sure, I could've gone to another hospital, another locked room with another psychiatrist. But what would be the point, Lisbon? I was nowhere near finding him and even if I did, I had lost everything. Red John knew I wouldn't get over it this time."

"Jane, I'm so sorry."

"Really, Lisbon? You're sorry for sticking up for yourself?"

"Jane, I never meant for you to get hurt in all this. Especially not like this."

"Lisbon?"

"Yeah, Jane?"

"You're the most important thing in my life."

"Jane – "

"And not because he's finished. You mean the world to me, as cheesy as that may sound."

Lisbon was saved by the sound of Cho and the rest of the team yelling out 'clear's downstairs. "Let's get you to the hospital."

* * *

><p>"I don't expect you to be mine, Lisbon. I can't…not after all that I've put you through." Jane lay in the hospital bed, looking at his hands and playing with the wedding band the surgeons had taken off when he'd arrived. He couldn't bring himself to look at her.<p>

Lisbon sighed. "Oh, Jane…I've been yours longer than I care to admit, especially considering all we've been through. But, it never fails. Through all your lies, crap, and eccentricities…I still love you."

He looked up at that. "You love me?"

"God help me, I do." She gave him a dimpled smile.

"Agent Lisbon, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." The pair looked up to see the governor of California standing in the doorway to Jane's room.

Jane watched Lisbon quickly stand, nearly stumbling, and smiled at her flushed cheeks. "Governor Brown," she greeted as she shook his proffered hand, "the honor's all mine, sir. But, it's actually not 'Agent' anymore."

"Yes, I heard. You're no longer working for our bureau of investigation anymore, and after so many years. Tell me, why is that?"

"Ah, I'm afraid that would be me," Jane spoke from the bed. "Patrick Jane. It's a pleasure to meet you, Governor." The two men shook hands.

Together, Lisbon and Jane told the governor the story of what led them to their current position. "Well, it seems the director of the CBI doesn't know a good thing when he sees it. You are an astounding agent, Ms. Lisbon. The California Bureau of Investigation needs you, Ms. Lisbon. Would you consider taking your old job back? I believe I _could_ pull a few strings," he winked at her with mirthful eyes.

She smiled back. "With all due respect, sir, even if I was no longer held responsible for Jane's methods, I couldn't. The new agent in charge is too good of an agent and a person to take something like that away from."

"I don't want it. You can take it." The three of them looked up to see Cho leaning in the doorway with half a smile. Jane turned a megawatt smile to Lisbon. Lisbon couldn't help but smile back thinking she'd never seen anything closer to a little boy who just got a puppy on Christmas.

"Excellent," the governor said, clapping his hands together.

* * *

><p>"So, the governor's allowed to help you get your job back but I'm not?"<p>

Lisbon smirked. "Yeah. But the governor's not allowed to kiss me."

Jane's smile turned predatory as he stalked toward her. He trapped her against her desk and took the picture frame out of her hand, setting it on the desk exactly where she was thinking of putting it. "Is that so?"

"Yep. And neither are you," she said as she pushed him lightly backward and went back to unpacking. "We're in the office."

"Hmm, we should fix that," he said as he grabbed her hand and led her out of her office toward the elevator.

"Jane," Lisbon groaned. Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt all shook their heads, smiling, and got back to work. Some things would never change. Sure, they'd all had their breakdowns. But they were all stronger for it, as individuals as well as a team. Sometimes you have to reach your breaking point to get to where it is you've always been going.

* * *

><p><strong>So, this is the end, my friends. I'm sorry it took so long. And it's such an abrupt end. I was expecting this to go in two chapters, not one. But, this is exactly how I wanted it to end. Lisbon's still strong. And she's not completely bowing to Jane's wishes. He had nothing to do with her getting her job back :) Hope you all enjoyed this story! Let me know your thoughts in the reviews.<strong>


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